FLORIDA: Public School Teacher Fired Over Gay Porn Career Gets Reinstated

The state of Florida has ruled that public school teacher Shawn Loftis was wrongly fired last year after his second career as a porn actor was exposed.

Loftis — who starred in gay porn films under the name Collin O'Neil — was teaching at Nautilus Middle School when the principal learned of his past, according to WPLG 10 News. The district suspended the substitute in January 2011, then his teacher’s certification was revoked in April, despite the fact that he’d left his porn career behind. The commission said his past pursuits were not illegal and the school did not have the authority to dismiss him on that basis. Loftis also argued that he hoped to use his role as a teacher to help guide students away from making the choices he had made.

Loftis is also one of CNN's most popular citizen journalists via their iReports feature. (Tipped by JMG reader Al.)